Opinion: Buhari and the Hausa language By Reuben Abati

“Baba just fall my hand! Ha, wetin.”
“Which Baba?”
“Baba Bubu, the President of all Nigeria.”
“In the spirit of this season, may Almighty Allah (SAW) grant him good health and quick recovery. It is part of our duty to pray for our leaders. Only infidels pray for evil.”

“My friend, the fasting season has ended. Stop fasting after Ramadan. I am saying something serious. Was it right for the President of Nigeria to address the Nigerian people in Hausa? “
“Hausa? Me no hear am oh. Have they changed the country’s official language?”
“Yes. Hausa.”

“Baba just enter radio begin speak Hausa to over 400 Nigerian ethnic nationalities”
“In the spirit of this season, my brother, we must thank God for everything”
“You have started.”
“Do you know if there is a medical reason? Suppose Baba’s diagnosis is that he can only speak Hausa from now on, what if something has happened to his English language? Impairment of the ability to speak English.”
“Are you okay? Some yeye people said Baba was suffering from speech impairment and that he would no longer be able to speak. They didn’t say anything affected his ability to speak English.”

“So, they organized a national broadcast in Hausa to convince us that the President of Nigeria can still speak. But by making him speak Hausa, they simply confirmed the speech impairment. They have just told us that the President can no longer speak the country’s official language.”

“So?”
“No. Well, I don’t think so. Hausa is actually an official language of Nigeria.”
“You have started. I say you have started. Even one of their aides said the whole thing could have been handled better.”
“I don’t believe that”
“That’s what I heard”
“He didn’t know his boss was going to speak Hausa?”
“Dey there.”
“But no problem. Section 55 of the Nigerian Constitution actually says when the business of Nigeria cannot be conducted in English, you can speak three other languages: Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.”

“The Constitution of Nigeria says that? I don’t believe that.”
“Yes, you don’t ever believe anything.”
“Does it also say that when a President is on medical vacation abroad, he can choose to address Nigerians in his mother tongue?”
“The thing is you never know. Some illnesses manifest in certain ways. There is a way you will feel sick, and the best way out is to speak in vernacular. We as Nigerians should show some understanding. Some people will fall sick now and they will do strange and unique things. That is the way I see it.”

“I hope the day will never come when a Nigerian President will speak Igbo on my television set. I swear, I will carry that TV set and smash it on the ground.”
“You see your problem? Are you saying Igbo is not a constitutionally recognized Nigerian language? You are an Igbo-hater, you this guy. One of those people Nnamdi Kanu refers to as idiots. So, if tomorrow a Nigerian leader decides to speak Fulfulde, what will you do? You will hang yourself? ”
“I have said my own.”
“You have not said anything. If language is your problem, then ask your ngbati brother in the Villa, to also start speaking Yoruba at Federal Executive meetings and other state functions. If he likes, let him speak Ijebu-Remo dialect. It is, I keep telling you, constitutional.”

“What are we running then? Some kind of linguistic zoo where anyone that gets to Aso Rock can speak in tongues?”
“Not in tongues. Three languages. Hausa, Yoruba and Hausa. And for your information, someone that I know once said that there is a spiritual side to that seat of power. You can’t ever predict how the spirit moves people in that place. We should just thank God for everything. We are talking about change. When you vote for change, you don’t know how God will change things. Our God works in mysterious ways. He speaks all languages, and he can do his miracles in any language he chooses.”

“But I don’t speak Hausa.”
“There is actually a transcript of the Presidential message. It is nothing harmful in any way.”
“After almost 50 days of absence?”
“Medical vacation. Try and be humane, this man.”
“Hausa language? At a time Hausa youths are telling Igbos to get lost and get out of Nigeria.”
“Don’t worry. We should just keep praying to God.”
“This is not about God. This is about us. Why will my President speak to me in a language that I don’t understand?”

“Everything is about God. Go and sit down and stop forming. Is English your language? Do you understand English? You are better off learning Hausa, if I may say so. See as you are losing sweat over the President speaking a constitutionally recognized Nigerian language”
“What of my own language, my own mother tongue? Is it also in the Nigerian constitution? This is about my identity, my Nigerian-ness, my sense of belonging. You don’t get it.”
“I get it. I say stop forming. If your language is not there, then your local government must be there. That is what you need, afterall, it is not everybody in your clan that speaks English”

“We don’t speak Hausa either, and I am sure that I have the right to ask that I should be addressed in a language that I understand as a bona-fide Nigerian citizen.”
“It’s okay. This is not a big deal. I’ll get you a transcript of what the President said.”
“In my local Ejagham language, with a broadcast in my people’s voice.”

“This man, what is your problem? It is people like you who want to break up Nigeria. How many of you are in that your Ejagham village sef, that you are making wahala like this?”
“Why must the President speak sef? The acting President has been speaking English to various groups in Nigeria. I was in fact hoping that he will get round to some of us and invite us to Aso Villa, and now from nowhere, the President releases a message that makes nonsense of the Acting President’s efforts at promoting unity in the country.”

“The Acting President is what Yoruba people call Adele, get it right, he cannot be the Baale, the village head, when the village head is alive. Adele is Adele. Baale is Baale.”
“We don’t have such a stupid saying in my village. Good for you Yoruba people who speak from all sides of the mouth. You will see the truth korokoro like this, you will start speaking from all sides of the mouth.”

“Why korokoro?”
“ I speak small Yoruba.”
“I will ask Senator Musiliu Obanikoro then to sue you for using that phrase koro koro. This one that everybody is likely to start speaking in mother tongue, you better watch what you say. Stick to your own mother tongue.”

“Isn’t that what some people want in any case? They want to turn our country into a Tower of Babel. Let everybody speak his or her mother tongue.”
“Your interpretation. Whatever language the President speaks, should not be a problem.”
“Fine. Donald Trump should also start speaking German then since his ancestors are from Germany, and the Windsors in England should start speaking French.”

“It is not the same thing. We are dealing with a peculiar situation here. What if the President is going through a special kind of therapy? New things are being discovered in the field of medicine everyday. This may be one of those cutting edge things. In the spirit of the season, you and other Nigerians should just chill.”

“You are just talking. I think at some point, we just have to restructure this country and get certain things right. There is something called protocol in governance.”
“I am not against restructuring, but restructuring for me is not about secession, break up or hate speech. Restructuring means making this country work for all of us, a country of great potentials where the aggregate of our country, resources, people, talents and diversity can put us on the world map. We are a blessed country. We just have to get things right, yes.”
“We do well as individuals, take Evans, the kidnapper, but not as a country because we are not yet a nation.”

“You can’t say some people are doing well like Evans. We can’t define our country with negativity. Evans is a kidnapper who made millions of dollars from making other people unhappy. We are a country in search of good role models and standards. By the way, Evans’ father says he needs to be taken to a spiritual home for deliverance, but I think he should have his day in court.”

“The truth is that we are actually a country of kidnappers. Right now, I feel as if I have been kidnapped in this country of my birth. They told me change begins with me, but I actually feel as if I have been kidnapped.”

“My friend, stop that drama. Don’t be a drama king. Be a positive citizen. Your mates are winning international prizes and doing well on the international stage, promoting Nigeria and Africa, you are here whining about village issues, my friend, you got to wake up. This is what we mean when we say change begins with you.”

“Which of my mates has won international prize?”
“Akinwumi Adesina, President of the Africa Development Bank, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture. Something big. Really big. The Nobel Prize of Agriculture.”
“Nobel Prize?”
“It is called the World Food Prize. It is the biggest thing in Agriculture.”
“Adesina. He did it as Minister of Agriculture. He has done it again globally. Up school!”
“Hel–looo. What is that?”
“Up school! Great of the greatest Ife! Ife gbogbo! Ife gbagba! Gre-at Ife!”
“You see yourself? You just must reduce everything to the level of the village and yet you complain about someone else speaking a local language.”

“Adesina is a product of the University of Ife, Obafemi Awolowo University.”
“Sorry, the World Food Prize is not about the university that you and Adesina attended, it is something bigger, it is about his accomplishments in promoting food security and by extension global security, his life-long distinction in the field of agriculture.”

“What I am saying is that this is Great Ife’s achievement.”
“It’s an achievement for Nigeria, for Africa, for the world. The security of the world is tied to the security of food. The point is clear: if the people of the world are hungry, the world cannot be safe.”

“Correct point, there. When I am hungry, I cannot guarantee that I will be a good person.”
“I hope you have eaten today.”
“It has been a very dry Sallah, my brother. I visited a friend of mine who usually slaughters a cow at a season like this. The man, this year had only fish, chicken and turkey. For a moment, I thought it was Christmas.”

“May be you are mixing up things. Muslims don’t usually slaughter rams after Ramadan. They do so during the main Sallah, the eid-el-kabir.”
“My own Muslim friends slaughter rams and cows all the time, but I see that this year, things are different, very very different. Recession palaver, I think.”

“You too should learn to give your friends rams and cows, instead of going from house to house to eat free meat, so stop complaining my friend.”
“Am I a Muslim? When it is Christmas, you can come to my house to eat turkey and chicken”
“We are all children of God, indivisible under the umbrella of God, that is all that matters.”
“I hope some people know that in the spirit of the season. I wish they knew.”

Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of 

Source@ojuasha

Cultists Are On Rampage In The Capital City Akure

The coalition of Akure Youth organization has called on Ondo State government and the state police command to stop the reckless killing by suspected cultists in the state capital. 

In the last 48 hours, no fewer than ten alleged cultists had been killed when rival groups opened fire on each other. 

The killings took place in major streets of the state capital and the last clash took place on Monday night at Nepa round about in the metropolis. 

In a message by the president of Akure Youth coalition, Mr Tuyi Adekanbi, the development is "worrisome."

He said "I Just want to call your attention to the recurring decimal of cultist killing in Akure metropolis. Till now 9 sound healthy youths had been gruesomely murdered."

"Before now we have called all individual and groups that matters that AKURE community is seating on a keg of gun powder with the activities of all these rivalry cults. They have graduated from night attacks and killings to a broad daylight operation."  

"There is pandemonium in all the nooks and crannies of Akure. They dispossess innocent people of their belongings and many people ran to danger everyday for the past 3days."

"Another boy had just been shot dead at NEPA roundabout this evening. His remains had been deposited at the morgue.  Imagine! Police are out of it this time around.  Help us, our youths are dying everyday."

"Help us to call Mr Governor and our celebrated SSG to rise to there responsibility."

The statement added that "the Akure Youth are expected to protest the cultists reckless killings today by closing major roads and markets."

Open Heavens 27 June 2017: Tuesday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Under Authority?

Topic: Under Authority? [Tuesday 27, June 2017]

Memorise: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. – Romans 13:1

Read: Acts 8:12-17 (KJV)

12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Bible in One Year: Ruth 2-4, Lamentation 1:1-12, Hymn: Sing hymn 14

MESSAGE:

It is one thing to serve the Lord, and another thing to submit to authority. Some people can render service to God but they cannot submit themselves to the authority of someone the Lord has placed over them. In today's Bible reading, after the apostles heard that a deacon was making waves in Samaria, they decided to go and see what was going on. Peter was asked to lead the delegation there. On arrival, Philip received them warmly, introduced them to the Samaritan converts as his leaders and submitted himself to their authority. There was no conflict whatsoever! If it were some people today, there would have been a rift. They would have confronted these leaders with rash words such as ''Pastor Peter, where do you think you have come to? When there was no revival here, you never came to Samaria. Now that God has used me to bring revival to Samaria, you have come to take over the work and the glory. I will never allow you to do this. You may be an apostle, but I am the one God used to save these souls and perform these signs and wonders, so please return to your Jerusalem."

Do you know that there are some pastors that God used in building up a church, who down the line defy all moves to transfer them elsewhere? They believe that since they did all the hard work of building from scratch, they should be left to enjoy the 'dividends' of their labour. This only shows a lack of understanding. In the first place, whatever work we do in the Kingdom of God is done for God and not for any man. Also, the means used for the work, whether physical, financial or material, come from God. Furthermore, no human being can adequately reward you for work you do for God. Similarly, God does not owe any one who serves Him: He always rewards them here on earth and later in eternity, as promised by the Lord in Matthew 19:29:

''And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.''

There should be no conflict at all on such matters. When a person is told by their authority to relocate, it should be clear to him or her that God is most likely through with using him or her in that current location. If you find it difficult to submit to your earthly superiors, it means that you are not ready for the ministry of signs and wonders. Are you under authority, or do you resist and struggle with your superiors? Repent and make amends today!

Key Point: Refusing to submit to the powers above you makes you a rebel, and this attracts divine condemnation (Romans 13:2).

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Femi Adesine reveals why his son decided to become a pilot

Good morning mum and dear siblings,
Below message might encourage  and make us more sensitive toward our children's career.
DADDY, I'LL BE A PILOT!' AND HE WAS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD
By FEMI ADESINA

Be careful what you dream about, it may well come to pass. Oluwatobi is my firstborn, "my might, and the beginning of my strength." One day, when he was just four years old, we were all in the living room; myself, his mom, and his sister, when he exclaimed:"Daddy, I'll be a pilot!"
I looked at him, looked at his mother, and said casually: "What does he know about piloting?" For by then, Oluwatobi had not gone near an airport, not to talk of entering an airplane.
But somehow, what he said refused to leave my mind. Just like the biblical Mary, after the angel told her of the virgin conception, I "kept all those things, and pondered them" in my heart.
'Tobi (as we call him) began to live his dreams. He needed to see only the picture of an airplane in a newspaper or magazine, and he would cut it, file it away, or paste on the wall of his bedroom. When he was old enough to manipulate a computer, he always went to sites where he could read about aircraft.
I had thought he would outgrow the passion. But the older he grew, the firmer and clearer the dream became. "Daddy, I'll be a pilot!"
As a growing journalist with growing means, I got to the point I could go on vacation with my family once a year. We started with Ghana. Then South Africa. And London... Tobi was in secondary school, and talked about nothing save flying a plane. Each time we travelled, it was like nirvana. While I kept looking at my wristwatch, expecting the time we would land, my son, and his sister, Tosin, felt completely at home in the sky.
I had expected two people to baulk, and talk Tobi out of his dreams. His mother, and my own mother (Tobi's grandma, whom he was particularly close to). But the two women surprisingly did not dissuade the boy. They submitted to the perfect will of the Almighty. Underneath are the Everlasting Arms.
Never underestimate the power of dreams. At 18, my son packed his baggage, and was on the way to Aeronav Academy, in South Africa. The fees were staggering, but by then, I was Deputy Managing Director/ Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Newspapers. The pay was good enough, and with some belt tightening and lots of sacrifice, I could afford the fees.
Tobi got to Johannesburg at the peak of winter. "A cold coming we had of it, just the worst time of the year. For a journey, and such a long journey, the ways deep and the weather sharp, the very dead of winter." (T.S Eliot, The Journey of the Magi). I remember the first email he sent to me:"Daddy, it's so cold, I had to sleep with my shoes on." Lol. My heart went out to him, but he that would eat honey from the rock must never consider the blade of his axe.
By the end of his first year, he got the private pilot license. Second year, he got the commercial license. I was breathing like a hog under the financial burden, but didn't Jesus promise that his yoke was easy, "and my burden is light?" I kept trudging on, and one day, at age 21, my son was back, a fully licensed pilot.
But there was still one more river to cross. And when he told me about it, I almost bolted (just as our President almost did, when he saw the state of the treasury after inauguration into office). Tobi told me of the need to proceed to Sweden, for a type rating license, in which he would specialize on the Boeing 737. A boy of 21 years, planning to fly a whole house in the sky? The money, in dollars, sent my heart racing, and my head spinning. But by then, I was already Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun. The publisher was a welfarist, and he took good care of his staff. If the family would take garri, instead of corn flakes, well, we could send Tobi to Sweden. And off he went, coming back months later with a type rating license. Arik Airline gracefully gave him a job.
For almost two years, the young pilot has been plying his trade, but he never flew me. The closest we got was one Saturday morning, about a year ago. I had just landed in Lagos, and who did I meet on the tarmac? Tobi and the crew that was taking over the airplane for the next flight. Safe skies, I told him, after we had taken some pictures, along with Captain Mohammed, an Arik veteran.
Then D-day came. And it was Monday this week. I had gone to Lagos to be part of Fathers Day celebration in my church, Foursquare Gospel Church, which held on Sunday. Return journey was 7 a.m Monday, aboard Arik.
On Sunday night, Tobi told me: "Daddy, you'll be on my flight back to Abuja tomorrow." Great expectations.
I approached the aircraft with Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State, and an old friend. An airline staff collected my hand luggage, and took it onboard. I then offered to relieve the former governor of the burden of his own luggage. Trust the ever self-effacing man. He hid the bag behind his back, as I made for it. We laughed.
I was on Seat 1D. The former governor was directly behind me. I told him my son was the co-pilot, and he was so very happy and excited at the news. And then, who came in, and took Seat 1F, right beside me? Another gentleman and friend, Mr Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We began to chat about the economy, and the risks falling oil prices in the international market could pose to the steadying exchange rate of the dollar to the naira. That was when Tobi struck. He came out from the cockpit, and said the Captain had consented that I should be their guest throughout the flight.
I first declined. Flying in the air was tough enough, who wants to go and frighten himself to death in a cockpit?
"Daddy, come and see what you paid for. Come and see where your money went," my son said. I introduced him to the CBN governor, and excused myself from the cabin. The co-pilot to the co-pilot had come. Father and son were in the cockpit.
Captain Carretero Alberto hails from Spain. And what a genial man he turned out to be throughout the 55 minutes flight. I got to know about his family, his professional background, and many others. He had kind words to say about Tobi, and, indeed gave him the thumbs up sign many times, as the young pilot flew the plane, and made what he considered smart moves.
Preparing to lift into the air was a whole set of ceremony. Many things to check. Engines, lights, wings, doors, everything.As Tobi handled the joystick, the joy kiln was kindled in the heart of a proud father.
Communication with the control tower was continuous, and lasted almost throughout the flight. As the plane lifted, and soared into the deep, azure sky, I could not see a thing. Not the foggiest thing. How do pilots do it? But there was a forest of buttons and knobs. They kept touching and pressing them. Is this what they call instrumentation? At a point, the sun streamed in powerfully, in all its brightness. And they fixed their sun visors.
"This is why pilots wear sunglasses," Tobi told me.
As the journey progressed, memories flooded in. The plane was moving forward, but I was going back in time. I remembered that June 25, when unto me a child was born, and unto the Adesinas a son was given. When I got to the hospital, and he was brought out for me to have a look, I remember the yell he gave. Now, the tot of that day is flying a Boeing 737. What will he fly next, a 747 or Dreamliner? The wonders of our God.
Then I chuckled. What did I remember? When Tosin, my daughter was born. Tobi was already three. He had not seen as much soft drinks as on the naming ceremony day. He drank Coke, Fanta, Pepsi, Sprite, everything. Then later, he came to meet me: "Daddy, my tomach (that was how he called it) is paining me. " I laughed, and asked why his tomach would not pain him, as I had seen him, mixing the drinks? Now, the boy is flying a plane.
I chuckled again. What is it this time? The time he was going to secondary school. A day before resumption, I had taken him to Ikeja, where we bought a pair of boots, which would be part of the school uniform. We barely got home before Tobi slipped into the boots, and for the rest of the evening, he strutted round the house in the jackboot. It was yeoman's effort to get him to remove it at bedtime. Even then, he put the boots daintily on his bed, throughout the night.
And then, the winter night he slept with his shoes on, in Johannesburg. Lol.
Soon, the plane swung right. And Tobi pointed the runway of the Abuja airport to me. We had begun to descend earlier, and would land in eight minutes. At the dot of that time, he brought the big bird gently onto the runway. What an experience for a father!
Since that Monday, when I posted the pictures of father and son on Facebook, the thanksgiving on our behalf has been overwhelming. I thank everyone who commented, and prayed for us. May your day of joy not be postponed. Amen.
My friend and brother, Onochie Anibeze, editor of Saturday Vanguard,  asked for this write up exclusively for his newspaper. I was glad to oblige. Gloating is not one of the reasons I went public about my joy. Far from it. Rather, it is out of thankfulness to God. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony." Glad to talk about the wonders of our God.
This is my story, this is my song. May every father have cause to rejoice in his son. And on the day of that joy, may the fathers not have toothache.
I can hear the *Amen*. Oh, glory to God.

.Adesina is Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari

"How can a National leader address Nigerians in a sectional language?" - Reno Omokri on Pres Buhari's audio message to Nigerians

Reno Omokri reacts to President Buhari's Sallah message which was broadcasted in Hausa.
In the audio message, President Buhari spoke in Hausa throughout the recording. Former presidential media aide, Reno Omokri, says this is unacceptable, adding that a National leader cannot address his people in a sectional language. He wrote:

"In a country whose official language is English, President Muhammadu Buhari broadcasts his Sallah message in Hausa! Would Trump (whose origin is German) address America in German? So what about all those Nigerians who can't speak Hausa? Ideally, the President should have spoken in English first, then if he feels like it, he may also speak in Hausa.
The way he has now spoken only in Hausa makes it seem as if he is only concerned with those who gave him 97% of the votes while those who have him 5% can take a hike! How would the rest of the country have felt if President Olusegun Obasanjo had released a Christmas broadcast to Nigerians in Yoruba of if President Goodluck Jonathan has done so in Ogbia? How can a NATIONAL leader address Nigerians in a SECTIONAL language? Nigeria has never had a leader as divisive as Buhari! There is no difference between President Buhari and Nnamdi Kanu. President Buhari is the President of all Nigeria. He is not the President of only those who can speak Hausa! This is an outrage! President Yar'adua also spoke to the BBC News by phone. He is Fulani, like President Buhari. Yet he spoke in English because he was President of all of us!

Olajumoke Is Really living her dream... She stuns in beautiful dress (Photos)

Model, Olajumoke Orisaguna looked stunning in a beautiful outfit to an event. More photos after the cut..

I wonder why people tends to hate so much! Says TBoss

Big Brother Naija 2nd runner up, Tokunbo Idowu aka Tboss took to Instagram page to share the above  stunning photo of herself and thought it wise to err her thoughts down as well.

She wrote:

Sooo, I'm just here wondering Why does Negative news trend and positive ones don't? Why do people just lurvvv to watch their fellow human beings tear themselves to shreds. It's a harsh world out there I tell you that. I'm constantly preaching love on my page so it's only normal that i practice what I preach yeh? Unlike some so-called people out there😒Lemme not mention names I just dey watch una... Abeg let me come and be going before I expose una.

KFBer

Open Heavens 26 June 2017: Monday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Born Into Captivity?

Topic: Born Into Captivity? [Monday 26, June 2017]

Memorise: He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. – 1 John 3:8

Read: Exodus 1:8-12 (KJV)

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

Bible in One Year: Judges 21, Ruth 1, Jeremiah 52:24-34, Hymn: Sing hymn 4

MESSAGE:

While some people fall into captivity through traps set by the tempter, some others, like Joseph, are sold into slavery(Genesis 37:23-28). In some parts of Africa, when a child is born, both parents of that child or either one of them enter into a covenant involving that child and some deity or spirit-wife or husband. Such a child later grows up to find that he or she has been sold into slavery. There are many childless couples who go to some deities for help, because they can no longer wait on God to give them good children. This opens the door to satanic offspring in their lives. Later in life, such demonic children will become devourers of their resources and peace. May you never be so frustrated as to go to the devil for help! Satan's ''help'' is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Moreover, in today's Bible reading, we understand that some people enter into slavery right from birth. When a pharaoh that did not know Joseph arose in Egypt and enacted new laws that made the Israelites slaves, every child that was born to them from that moment was born into slavery. In whatever way you have found yourself in captivity, whether by choice, design or by birth, there is deliverance for you today. The Great Deliverer is able and willing to deliver you. 1 John 3:8 says Jesus Christ was manifested in order to destroy the works of the devil. Captivity is the work of the devil, and he seeks to control and ruin lives by it. The predator runs the lives of his captives. When he wants, he whips them, pushes them into difficulties and mocks them while they struggle. He dictates what they become and where they will end. The fellow in captivity has virtually lost control over his or her life. You cannot be a captive and at the same time be free to serve God the way you want. One of the reasons why Jesus Christ came into this world was to make us free to serve God. Contained in the prophecy of Zacharias about the Lord Jesus Christ is this statement about His mission, inLuke 1:74-75:

''74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.''

This is why you have to arise in anger today and rebel against any form of captivity you have found yourself in, and ask Jesus Christ to deliver you now. You shall be free today!

Prayer Point: In any way I and members of my family have found ourselves in captivity, we rebel and break away from it today!

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

The Principles Of Money Mistake By Unusual

#Money Mistake 1:
Never borrow money that accrues interest to start a business (except if you are paying for it through your salary); only borrow to grow your business. This is because business takes a long time to gain ground and begin making profit, yet most loans repayments have to be made within a month of taking the loan or even earlier. Therefore, never borrow money to start a business expecting that the business will generate income to pay back the borrowed money plus the interest.

#Money Mistake 2:
Never spend money you haven't received. Don't even promise someone money based on a promise you have from someone else. If someone tells you: "Ezra, come to my office tomorrow at 9am and pick #30K"don't go out to buy items on credit based on this promise, with the hope that you will pay off your creditor when the promised money comes; it may not come as promised and this will leave you in problems with your creditors.

#Money Mistakes 3:
If you want to save, whenever you receive money, don’t start spending hoping that you’ll save what remains. Normally what remains is zero because as long as money to spend is available, the numerous things you can spend it on are also available. And things to spend on even incite their 'relatives' so that you spend even more than you had planned. When money to spend is not available, we naturally find a way of doing without it. That's why I've learnt to save with an INVESTMENT CLUB. Once I send money there I assume I no longer have it. Before you spend any money, put your savings aside then spend what is left after saving.

#Money Mistake 4:
When you get an opportunity to meet a very wealthy person, never ask for money. Ask for ideas on how to make money. They may even choose to give you money on their own after seeing that your ideas are great, but let getting money from them never be your objective.

#Money Mistake 5:
Keeping your seed instead of planting it. Many people stop at saving. It's very, very difficult to save and have all you need to maintain your lifestyle especially after retirement. When you save, your savings are seed; plant it. When you just keep the seed (saving money) some seeds begin to die (eaten by inflation and the like). That's why I recommend that you read about the different types of investment vehicles you can use to grow your savings. I am not necessarily talking about putting the money in a business, because you can easily lose money in  business. I am talking about putting it in an investment.

#Money Mistake 6:
Never lend someone money you are not willing to lose. By the time you lend someone money, be contented in your heart that should the person fail to pay, you will not die. You should not even lose that person's friendship if they fail to repay the money you lent them. If you feel the person might fail to pay you and this will not affect your relationship with them, then lend them money. If their failure to pay would make you hate this person’s entire clan, please advise the person to go to the bank.

#Money Mistake 7:
Never append your signature to guarantee someone on a financial matter if you are not willing or able to pay the money on their behalf. Do I have to explain that one? No, it's self-explanatory.

#Money Mistake 8:
Avoid keeping money you don't intend to use in the short-term within easy reach. For instance, don’t walk with #100K in your pocket when all you plan to do in a day costs #20K. Like I mentioned in Money Mistake 3, there are always expenses available to gobble any money that is within reach, so if you don't want to lose it, put it away in a safe place.

#Money Mistake 9:
Avoid keeping money in inappropriate places e.g. in socks, under the pillow, in a pit, in the sitting room, in the bra, in a travel bag that you will place somewhere in a bus ... impulse buying is a devil that will keep you busy!

#Money Mistake 10:
Spending money on an item that you can do without (at least for the time being). These days when I pick money from my pocket or wallet, before paying for something I ask myself: What would happen if I didn’t buy this? If I find I can live with the consequences of not having that thing, I smile and walk away.


#Money Mistake 11:
Paying an amount for something that's not the minimum you can get that same value for. In other words, if you are in Abule Egba my area and you pay #5K for a shoe that you can get at #2K at oshodi market, that's a money mistake except for those who have achieved financial freedom.


#Money Mistake 12:
Wanting to be the savior of the world by helping everyone in financial need. My sister, my brother,  you are not Jesus. If you find it so hard to say no to a financial demand, you may think you are practising generosity when in actual sense you are committing (financial) suicide. We are not learning to be miserable here; we are learning to live within the boundaries of reality.


#Money Mistake 13:
Consistently spending all you earn or more than you earn. It's like having a drum where you have an inlet that's smaller than the outlet. It will never get full. And should the inlet ever reduce significantly the drum will run dry. If you do it the other way round and the inlet is bigger, it will get full and even overflow. Hence, we have to always ensure we are widening the inlet while narrowing the outlet – all the time. Your side hustle comes in handy!


#Money Mistake 14:
Thinking about short-term only and forgetting about long-term or thinking about the long-term and forgetting about the short-term. For instance, Lydia was told that there's money in land. She saved money over a long period of time and bought 30 acres of land. Now she has the land but she is always broke. She is always complaining. She's disgruntled and she doesn't seem to see herself earning from the land in the near future. Now, let's ask ourselves: Having 30 acres of land and no money to feed your family or take a child to hospital, is that wealth or poverty? I think Lydia only looked at long-term needs and forgot that she has short-term needs that require money. What of those who find they are one paycheck away from salary? Are they thinking about the long-term needs?

Mm
Let’s take stock of our finances. How many mistakes are you guilty of? Do you now feel better-equipped to do better with these tips? Good luck, savers! Share this knowledge with your friends because it will not benefit you if you are selfish with it. Spend wisely.

Good News! Is Like Aunty Funke Akindele Is Expecting Twins??

Based on the hottest gist, is like AuntyFunkeAkindele is expecting twins.. Amen
So shall it be in Jesus name....

Just read this from #JJC

Going by her husband, JJC Skillz's IG post, actress Funke Akindele is expecting a set of twins. Also on the Halleluyah Challenge last night, Funke specifically thanked God for safe delivery as well as for conception. Massive congrats to them! JJC wrote;

"Amen amen amen. God I receive your wonderful news in praise. To God be the glory  you will be called a mother by your beautiful miraculous twins @funkejenifaakindele my queen and wonderful mother of my children to be.


LIB

How Evans The Kidnapper Was Arrested.... Vanguard

HOW MY GIRLFRIEND CAUSED MY DOWNFALL —EVANS
…The shock of my life
…His different names in different cities
…Denies man, woman who claimed he kidnapped them
…I don’t collect N20m or N10m, he tells them
…I would have been worse if I was well educated
…Why he threatened a victim after collecting $1m ransom

JUST like a thriller typically involving crime and mystery, the story of arrested Kidnap Kingpin, Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike, aka, Evans has remained captivating. Like a Hollywood movie with an exciting plot and phenomenal characters, the issue begets interesting and surprising angles each day.

When you think Evans had narrated nearly all his escapades, more sensational and suspenseful narratives would emerge, producing new angles to the most intriguing criminal case in Nigeria’s recent history.

Frankly, only the Lawrence Anini case of the 1980s could rival the Evans episode given that like the former, the latter was also the king of the underworld.  Interestingly, the same kind of tragic flaw ended their respective episodes given that women were key to their downfall. At an exclusive encounter with SaturdayVanguard, during the week, Evans pondered on the events leading to his arrest and concluded that visiting his girlfriend, Amaka was the weakness that led to his fall.

An unassuming Evans, whose expression was a mixture of sobriety and impenitence, summarized the pre-arrest events thus: “I f***ked up.”

At the latest meeting with Evans at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, where he is being detained, the Nnewi-born kidnap kingpin made fresh revelations amid regrets about not leaving the country with his family.

 I failed to follow my instincts

He told Saturday Vanguard that he knew the Police had identified the area he was living, a discovery he made on May 23, 2017, when the officer-incharge-of the IRT, Abba Kyari, visited Magodo Estate and held a meeting with the Divisional Police Officer and some residents of Magodo Estate.

Evans revealed that one of the residents, who was part of that meeting alerted him to the Police presence in the area. The person, he said, informed him, who the Police were looking for and how they planned to carry out their operation.

Evans said he quickly moved his family out of Magodo and relocated to a hotel in Ikeja.     He said his failure to follow his instincts and leave the country immediately, having known that his girlfriends, sister and gang members had been arrested, gave him out.

How my problems started

Narrating the new angles to his story, the Junior Secondary School dropout said: “My problem started on Friday, May 12, 2017, when one of my captives, Mr. Donatus   Dunu, a Pharmacist, who I abducted at   Ilupeju area of Lagos escaped.

 I got a call from one of my boys looking after my victims at my den at 6: am that Mr. Dunu escaped from that den at 4:30 am. They looked for him without success.   At that time, I knew trouble had come.   The next news I heard was that the Police had visited the place and my AK47 rifles, pistols and over 40 loaded magazines were recovered by the Police.

‘’ I was worried and I called my gang members wanting to know what actually transpired.   They all blamed Uche, who was in charge of the den. I told them that I was going to deal with him.   At that time, my mind started racing and I was trying to think of what to do because I knew that the Police would come after me with force.

 I read a story in Vanguard

“ Five days later, I read a story in Vanguard Newspaper that the IGP had deployed, Abba Kyari and his men to Lagos State, to track my boys and 1 and they have also visited the den, where Mr. Dunu escaped from.   That was about the same time they placed a bounty of N30million for information that could lead to my arrest.

Some of my men, who got news started panicking, but I assured them that I was on top of the situation and that the police would not get me. My Second-in-Command, Felix called me and expressed fears, but I assured him that the Police can’t arrest me and I was also making preparations to kidnap one other person.

I then informed him that I would commit suicide rather than allow the Police to arrest me. When Suoyo, who lives in Beyelsa State, called me and expressed fears, I also assured him that nothing was going to happen. I told him I was making plans for another operation and needed him to go into the creeks and buy a new set of arms and ammunition for me.”

 The shock of my life

“But in the afternoon of May 23, 2017, I got the shock of my life when a call from a man living in our estate informed me that Abba Kyari and his men, held a meeting with the estate security and the local police. He said they had information that the man kidnapping businessmen in Festac Town and Amuwo Odofin, receiving $1million as ransom from his victims was residing in Magodo Estate.

The man also informed me that the estate and the Police have agreed to shut one of the gates leading into the estate to enable them to track me down through the vehicle I was using.

He also told me that some of Abba Kyari’s men would disguise as LAWMA officials cleaning the streets and some of them would operate as PHCN staff to enable them to have access to people’s home within the state. The man, who gave me this information didn’t know that I was the one who the Police were looking for. I quickly moved my family out of the house and we relocated to a hotel in Agidingbi, Ikeja, where we started planning on how to relocate to Ghana.

I buy my cars from Beger Motors

“While at the hotel, my mind wasn’t at rest, I didn’t know where the Police would be launching attacks from.  I was on hyper-alert and I started thinking of how to make sure the Police didn’t get me.

I quickly sold my Lexus SUVs because from the information I gathered from the man who called me, I learnt the Police were looking for a man, who drives a black and silver coloured Lexus SUVs.     Then I got someone to move my mother out of Nnewi because I believed the Police may go after her and would want to use her to lure me.

While I was making these plans, news came in that my Second-in-Command, Felix had been arrested by the Police.   Someone from Berger Motors on Oshodi Apapa Expressway where we normally buy our vehicles called and informed me that the Police operatives picked him up at their park.

I trusted Felix so much because he wouldn’t divulge any information about me to the Police.   He had told me on countless occasions, that no matter the amount of torture he receives from the Police that he would not divulge any information about our activities.

My girlfriend, Ijeoma

‘’ While I was still contemplating on what to do next, I received another call from one of my girlfriends, Ijeoma, who I was so fond of. She said she wanted to see me. Immediately, I had this feeling that the Police had arrested her.

I told her that she could not see me because I knew she was with the Police, then I dropped the call.   I was very worried and needed to hasten our journey out of Nigeria.   I planned to travel with my entire family to Canada but the Canadian Embassy refused to grant me a   visa.

So we decided to move to Ghana where I have three houses so we could apply for Canadian visa from Ghana.   Two days later, Ijeoma’s twin sister who lives in the east called and informed me that her sister called from the Police station that she was arrested because of me and the Police wanted her to bring the sum of N200,000 as a bribe for her bail.   I told her the Police were only deceiving her because the matter at hand was beyond N200,000 bribe.

My instruction to my boys

‘’I asked her to look for a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, who could stand for her.   I also told her to look for someone who knows the Inspector General of Police, so they can take her case to him.   I told her that with such pressure the Police will release her because she didn’t commit any offence that would warrant her arrest.

A few days after that, the Police swooped on my younger sister, Nzube and her husband and they took them to the Police station.   I didn’t know how they did it, but I called their numbers for two days and they were switched off.

It was then that I suspected that they have been arrested. Immediately I called my mother in Bayelsa State and told her that the people chasing me had apprehended my sister and her husband.   Luckily my sister has never been to my house in Magodo Estate, it would be difficult for her to lead the Police to my place.   I became confused. I didn’t know what to do.

For me, I knew I was secured because   I know how security agents track their targets but I was scared of my boys some of whom didn’t know how to secure themselves. I sent messages to some of my boys alerting them that security operatives were clamping down on us and they should all be careful. I asked them to stop sleeping in their houses and I also gave them tips on how to stay secured.

My girlfriend, Amaka

‘’One week before my arrest, one of my girlfriends, Amaka, who lives in Okota called me and demanded money. I asked her what she needed money for and she said there was no food in her house, adding that her children were hungry.   I was surprised and suspected something must be wrong because I gave her N25, 000 for feeding two days before she made that call. I asked her about the money I gave her earlier, she said she had spent it. From that point, I suspected something was wrong. Then I switched off the phone she was calling me with. I had one special phone. Whenever the phone is switched off I will receive messages from her asking why my phone was switched off and she would be begging me to come and see her. At one point I called her mother and told her that I was suspecting that something was wrong with Amaka.

I asked her to visit her house to confirm. Her mother sent someone there and after spending about two hours with her, I was informed that she was alright but she only needed money and they gave her N3000. That confirmed something was wrong. Amaka is the one that gives them money, not the other way round. They couldn’t be giving Amaka N3,000 because I know what I give to her. I became very drunk

I became very drunk

‘’That singular action confirmed my suspicions that policemen were with her. I called her and told her that I had a feeling that there were policemen with her and they were trying to use her to arrest me but she denied. I asked her to give the phone to her children one after the other and asked them if there was any stranger in their house.

They all said there was none. I wasn’t convinced because I knew how the Police do their job and how they think. I also knew that for a high-profile target like me, the Police will do everything possible to get at me. A few days later, my wife and children left for Ghana. Amaka was still calling and begging me to send money to her. The night before my arrest, I lodged in a hotel in Okota, close to her house and I could not sleep.

I was busy drinking all night and I became very drunk.   At 4:am I summoned the courage to see her. Her house is close to the road. When I got close to her gate, I stopped on the road and called her, when she picked I asked her not to drop her phone. I said she should stay on the call and meet me outside. She came bare-footed and was still on the call.

I opened the door, she came in and I drove off with her. When we got far from the house, I took her phone and switched it off. I asked the identity of the people in her house but she said there was nobody in the house. I became angry, held her neck and I tried to kill her. She screamed and confessed that the policemen had been with her in the past one week and they were trying to use her to lure me. Instantly I pushed her out of my car and I zoomed off.

I was stupid

‘’While at Iyana-Ipaja, I saw some vehicles trailing me seriously and thought that they were policemen. At a point, I lost control of the vehicle and rammed it against a culvert on the expressway. I quickly abandoned the car and took a trycicle to where I could get a cab that could take me to my hotel. While in the hotel, I decided it was over and I needed to leave the country as soon as possible. At 7:am I checked out of the hotel and called someone to pick the car from where I left it. I took another taxi home.

While in the house, I called an Uber taxi driver to come and pick me from the house. The driver was to take me from my house to Seme Border, where I would connect to Ghana, but while in the house and I was packing my things into the Uber taxi, the police showed up at my place and arrested me. I regretted going to see Amaka .

I knew Amaka was used to hunt me down, but I was stupid, I f**ked up. Going to see Amaka was my biggest mistake. It made me fall. It brought my downfall. I ought to have been at the front of that vehicle that took my family to Ghana.”

How I beat security operatives

When SaturdayVanguard inquired from Evans on how he was able to evade arrest during his reign, he said he knew the dangers associated with kidnapping. Evans revealed that he maintained multiple identities, adding that he ensured there were no pictures of him in circulation.

He said: ‘’I beat security operatives over the years because my system is a sensor that detects problems.   I don’t use charms of any kind but I developed the ability to detect danger since my early days as an armed robber. That was why I was able to know that the Police were close to me even when they haven’t informed me.   I don’t snap pictures.   In fact, I don’t have any picture.   Nobody on earth had my picture before now.   Even those who are very close to me don’t have my picture.

I don’t snap pictures

‘’My mother doesn’t have my pictures. My wife and siblings don’t have them as well. My pictures are not in my house and that made it difficult for security agents to apprehend me because they don’t know how I look like.   Another issue you may have to take into consideration is the fact that I have numerous names for different people. My wife knows me as Somtochukwu, while all my girlfriends knew me as Mike.   My neighbors at Gowon Estate knew me as George.

‘’I was also known as Sunny in Benin while in Port harcourt, I was known as Richard. These are the reasons it was difficult for policemen to track and arrest me. No one has my pictures and the names I bear in Lagos weren’t the names I had in other states.   Ifeanyi (calling our reporter’s name), I would have been worse than this if I   had proper education. With education, I could have done worse things and be elusive. But thank God it’s over and I have been stopped.

I don’t collect ransom abroad

‘’ I don’t give bank account to my victims because it could be traced. Whoever made the allegations that he paid part of his ransom in South Africa isn’t sincere. I would have been arrested and they should bring the account number they paid the money into. The Interpol can trace the account and know the owner. I collect my ransom in Nigeria and after collecting it, I also do not travel abroad. I usually ask the people keeping my victims to tell them that I have traveled abroad. I usually call my victims’ relatives with my satellite phones and inform them that I was out of the country. This would make them relax a little and after some time, I will ask my boys to release the victims and drop them where they could locate their people.”

I was fair to my victims

Evans further disclosed that he treated his victims fairly, adding that the only wrong things he did were to chain, blindfold and detain his victim for months.  He said he was doing these because he wanted his victims to meet his demand.

He added that the only victim, who he treated wrongly was   Mr. Cosmos Ojukwu, who he said he collected an extra sum of $200,000, from after receiving an initial payment of $1million.

Evans said he threatened Ojukwu into paying the additional ransom of $200,000 because members of his family paid the $1million he demanded swiftly without wasting time.

He said: “After he paid the $1million I demanded swiftly than I expected more. I informed him while he was being released that I would be collecting another ransom from him. I told him he would have to pay me an additional $200,000 because the $1 million he gave me earlier were in old currencies. I   asked him to bring my balance.

He felt I was joking, then I informed him that I was not just going to kidnap him again, but would hunt his entire family. He panicked and called me that he had raised the money.   I asked him to bring the money to Awka. When he got there I asked him to lodge in a hotel, he obeyed me. At night I asked to bring the money to where I was. He obeyed me and paid me the money. From that time I left him alone.’’

Culled from Vanguard